The leader of striking London tube drivers has called for fresh talks after claiming authorities "sabotaged" a deal to end the dispute.

Bob Crow, the general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, contacted the conciliation service Acas to ask for a meeting with London Underground (LU) managers despite increasing acrimony between the two sides.

Millions of commuters and visitors to the capital have continued to suffer travel chaos amid the 48-hour stoppage that started at 7pm on Tuesday.

Thousands of England football fans will face problems travelling to Wembley for tonight's World Cup qualifier with Andorra, although Transport for London said this afternoon that a limited service would be running.

The leader of Aslef, the other tube drivers' union, appeared to criticise the RMT over its decision to strike and sympathised with the travelling public. Aslef is one of three unions alongside the RMT involved in pay talks with London Underground.

Keith Norman, the Aslef general secretary, said his union believed it could negotiate a vastly improved offer. "Our view is that you don't go on strike when you're making progress. It appears strange that the RMT has called a strike when negotiations are not at an end."

The Northern and Jubilee lines were said to be running with minor delays and there were partial services on seven other lines. There were no services on the Circle or Waterloo and City lines. About 120 trains ran instead of the usual 500 during the morning rush hour.

The strike, set to last until 7pm tomorrow, was triggered by a dispute over pay, jobs and disciplinary issues. The key sticking point for the RMT is job security for members amidst planned cuts of 1,000 jobs.

Transport for London confirmed that talks broke down last night over the level of protection against compulsory redundancies. The London mayor, Boris Johnson, had insisted the strike was over the fate of two sacked drivers – a claim rejected by the union.

Crow said job security needed to be resolved before the strike could be called off. He predicted disruption could be greater tomorrow as essential maintenance work would not be carried out overnight.

In a letter to Boris Johnson today, Crow asked for a meeting and accused London Underground of telling a "pack of lies". He said there had been an agreement to consult workers over a revised pay offer, an agreement for Acas to study disciplinary issues and an agreement on redundancies.

Crow said that at 6pm on Tuesday, an hour before the strike was due to start, he signed a document he believed would lead to the strike being called off. But after TfL managers received a phone call he was told they could no longer abide by the agreement.

Crow wrote to Johnson : "I have no doubt that the phone call made was to the transport commissioner or City Hall who instructed the management team to pull the agreed deal. It is an absolute disgrace that we should reach an agreement in good faith, only for that agreement to be sabotaged.

"Either your senior management are completely dishonest or have no authority to negotiate. Or it is the case that you have personally intervened to scupper the deal in the belief that a confrontation with tube workers will serve your political agenda."

Johnson, who is the chairman of TfL, has yet to respond. But his director of transport policy, Kulveer Ranger, said Crow was being "duplicitous" in claiming there was an agreement on the table on Tuesday night. "LU made the very reasonable request that the RMT suspend strike action so that this could be worked through. However, the RMT leadership refused to continue or give the talks more time, and walked out," he said.

The London transport commissioner, Peter Hendy, said: "We remain ready for talks at any time and anywhere, including further talks at Acas."

Marshals oversaw fixed-fare taxi sharing from the six main rail stations during the morning rush hour and pay-as-you-go Oyster cards were accepted on rail services. Maps for walkers were distributed at hundreds of central rail and tube stations, and roadworks were suspended on many routes.

A free riverboat shuttle ran from London bridge to Tower bridge, with a peak-hour free shuttle between the London Eye and Tower bridge. Services were expanded on existing routes, boosting capacity from 1,500 to 8,000 people an hour.

As well as causing huge problems for commuters and visitors, and costing businesses tens of millions of pounds, the strike is expected to have an impact on tonight's World Cup qualifying match between England and Andorra at Wembley.

TfL said it was doing all it could to keep trains running on the Jubilee and Metropolitan lines through Wembley Park station but services would be reduced. London Overground trains are scheduled to run a limited service. Travellers are being advised not to rely on public transport as their sole means of travelling but to consider walking part of the way.

The Football Association has decided against playing the game without spectators but has offered to refund any ticket-holders unable to attend because of the strike.